Forth Ports has secured a £50m private investment for the Port of Leith having secured its largest offshore wind contract, the delivery of the 1100MW Inch Cape project off Scotland.
This latest investment in infrastructure at the Port of Leith will enhance the port’s marine access, infrastructure and vessel assets and includes plant and equipment that will be used to deliver Inch Cape.
It will also create up to 50 new and upskilled green energy jobs to support the project.
Forth Projects – Forth Ports’ in-house logistics division – will handle Inch Cape’s monopile and jacket foundations at the Port of Leith.
The specialist pre-assembly and marshalling of the wind farm’s 72 turbines, comprising 72 nacelles, 216 blades and 72 towers, will be undertaken by Vestas in the Port of Dundee (announced as a hub for Inch Cape in 2022).
Forth Ports’ agreement with Inch Cape, to be sited off the Angus coast, will use the port operator’s bespoke facilities and expertise at newly created renewable energy hubs at both the Port of Leith and Port of Dundee.
Visiting the Port of Leith today, Deputy First Minister, Kate Forbes (right), said: “Investment in key sectors such as Scotland’s ports can reap rewards.
“This is why the Scottish Budget commits £150 million to the offshore wind infrastructure and supply – to attract private investment such as this announcement from Forth Ports.
“Supported by Forth Green Freeport incentives, the Leith Renewables Hub will bring well-paid green jobs and ensure Scotland is best placed to develop a world leading renewables sector while progressing to net zero.
“The Scottish Government’s Green Industrial Strategy identifies how we can work better, smarter and quicker to create an investor-friendly environment and seize the many opportunities for green growth which lie ahead. This is a great example of how this has been achieved.”
Today’s Leith announcement follows a decade of private investment, during which time Forth Ports has created the land, quayside and skills capacity, which has not previously existed in Scotland, to deliver very large offshore wind contracts.
Stuart Wallace (left), CEO of Forth Ports, said: “When it goes live, Inch Cape will have a significant impact on Scotland’s energy transition as the country drives to achieve net zero carbon emissions.
“Our strategy is to create and build the renewables hubs ahead of market demand and we have achieved this in Dundee and Leith.
“Coupled with other specialist facilities delivered by Forth Projects, this creates an unrivalled prime position for Forth Ports to deliver large offshore wind projects.”